Category: branding and marketing

From amazing VR campaigns to outstanding immersive experiences, we’ve rounded up five of our favorite brand activations and music experiences from 2017.

AMC – Los Pollos Hermanos at SXSW

To promote the third season of Better Call Saul, AMC brought a full-scale replica of the infamous chicken chain, Los Pollos Hermanos, to SXSW 2017. Of all the brand activations that happen at SXSW each year, this is up there as one of the best and most detailed ever.

Audi – Enter Sandbox

Promoting their Q5 model, Audi developed a virtual reality project called “Enter Sandbox.” Taking their inspiration from a child’s sand castles, they combined a physical installation with VR to enable prospective Audi drivers to test-drive the new car on their very own, self-made track.

Gorillaz – Mixed reality mobile app

For the release of the Gorillaz new album, Humanz, the band launched a mixed reality app, combining real world, AR, VR, and 360 environments. Fans were able to explore the Gorillaz house, discover exclusive content, and then capture and share it. Through the app, fans were also invited to the Humanz House Party, an exclusive worldwide listening event which brought fans together across 500 locations.

Guinness – Instore VR tasting experience

For the launch of three new beers, West Indies Porter, Hop House 13 Lager, and Guinness Draft, Guinness created a multi-sensory virtual reality experience in Tesco supermarkets across the UK. The experience immersed users among colors, shapes, and sounds that are scientifically proven to enhance the flavor profiles of each beer. An intelligent cup with a built-in chip recognized these movements and triggered various multi-sensory cues to enhance the flavors and aromas of each.

Presented by London’s Victoria and Albert museum, with sound by Sennheiser, The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains, is an immersive and theatrical journey through Pink Floyd’s extraordinary world. The traveling exhibition draws together many unique artifacts illustrating Pink Floyd’s relationship with music, art, design, technology, and performance. Scaled models of set designs are shown alongside inflatable puppets, music videos, animations, tour programs, and sketches for album covers, offering a look at the process and ambition behind the band’s creative output.

Check out our latest composition work for Skype at X Games Austin 2014. High energy music from Listen was included in videos featuring pro skateboarder Mitchie Brusco and BMX rider Chad Kerley, who took fan questions via Skype video chat and did some tough tricks upon request!

Last weekend the Listen crew was on the ground supporting Skype at the amazing Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, which took over a farm in the town of Manchester, Tennessee from June 12-15. Nearly 100,000 people attended, and Skype was there to give each of them a chance to get closer to their favorite artists on the lineup. The Skype Recording Booth, situated next to the Bonnaroo’s iconic ferris wheel with Xbox’s Game Stage on the other side, allowed Bonnaroovians to stop by throughout the festival and record a question for Bonnaroo artists via Skype video message. Selected fan questions were then featured in artist Q&As dubbed Chatting With Artists, which are viewable via Xbox Live and on Bonnaroo’s YouTube channel.

At this weekend’s Sasquatch! music festival, we’re constructing an interactive space that combines original music, mind-bending projections, and uses people as the content. The Skype Music Room allows festival goers to create music in real time using Skype Video Messages as beats through our Digital Sound Interface, easy enough for anyone to use. Check out the video above for our demonstration with Sydney-based indie rock band, Cloud Control. The Skype Music Room lets you be part of the Sasquatch experience in a unique way—whether you’re at the festival, or checking it out from home. All you need to do to become part of it is send a video message (hopefully a fun, friendly one) to Skype_Sasquatch or click here.

Your video can then be turned into music and projected onto the walls of the Skype Music Room for everyone to enjoy.

Audi A3’s campaign, #paidmydues, focuses on people determined and working hard in their respective fields, providing them with a platform to tell their stories of struggle and accomplishment that have transformed their lives. #paidmydues was launched by a live-streamed, full day event from Santa Monica Airport’s hanger 8 on May 7th, gathering an Audi-curated group of 15 creators, musicians, filmmakers, artists, and performers who have paid their dues. Featured creatives include graffiti artist Madsteez, freestyle rapper Oddisee, comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade, chef Jordan Kahn, comic book creator Jim Mahfood, DJ Dam-Funk, and animators Oh Yeah Wow, among others. Their stories, creations, and performances encouraged others to do the same with a contagious objective to share the inspiration with others.

With branded content, comes branded music. Listen stepped in and created original music to:

Tie multiple stories together through an original main theme track and six variations in different styles

Create music congruent to Audi’s branding

Connect with Audi’s target audience

We were happy to “pay our dues” with this project in the ongoing pursuit of helping brands utilize music to strengthen the connection with their audience.

It’s been a few months since we’ve given our blog some love with the latest music, tech, and branding/advertising news from around the web. But that’s all about to change. We look forward to bringing you more of what we’re experiencing and inspired by at the intersection of the music and brands on a regular basis.There’s been a plethora of innovative happenings taking place lately and noteworthy topics catching our eye — such as this Fast Company article taking a close look at Converse’s music and artist partnerships strategy, which goes into detail on how they support musicians without the ‘ick-factor’. In other news, music analytics have become quite the hot topic, receiving increased awareness as they support A&R practices by helping labels predict future hits. And hats off to independent musician Owen Pallett for satisfying studied music folks and Daft Punk fans everywhere with his music theory-based analysis of the genius behind last summer’s dance-pop anthem, “Get Lucky.”While we’re catching you up, we should also mention some work Listen has been involved with lately. We have been supporting Skype on a few music/sound and live event-based projects, such as their Ones to Watch program in conjunction with Live Nation. Featured electro-pop band, Cherub, used Skype to answer fan questions and perform a special set for them in our NYC studio. The Ones To Watch program launched early this year and highlights the very best emerging artists and bands. We also assisted Skype at the TED Conference in Vancouver last March, which included a panel discussion with DIY artist and queen of crowdfunding, Amanda Palmer, alongside Kickstarter co-founder Yancey Strickler. You can check out the full discussion online. More on that later. Watch this space for more updates! Just don’t call it a comeback.